Elements of a Spiritual Practice

Every time I discuss my spiritual work, including when I use a Ouija Board, inevitably I will share the importance of having a Spiritual Practice in place outside of doing such work. If you are new to using the Board, this may seem like the furthest thing from your mind when using this tool. Right now, you may be asking yourself, “How is a Ouija Board related to spirituality?”

Anytime you enter another realm or another dimension and communicate with the unseen forces, whether they are the forces of your inner imagination, your Higher Self, the departed spirits or other energies, it behooves you to come from a place of empowerment. In order to feel empowered and not afraid of such realms, you must know that you are first and foremost empowered. I am not talking about a false sense of security found in repeating rote words that fall flat, as in the form of a statement you use before you start your Board sessions or other such pursuits. No, I am talking about meaningful words backed by ritual, connection and beliefs centered in a personal conviction that you are aligned within yourself and connected back to the Source of Creation. Wow! So, how do you do this?

We must explore the elements involved for creating and sustaining your personalized spiritual practice that will lend itself to you experiencing positive and uplifting connections and communications with Spirit and within the world at large. I have listed seven elements in the form of steps to help you create your own Spiritual Practice.

1.) Space – Find an uninterrupted time and space where you can take your mind off the trappings of the day, if only for a few minutes. This space will allow you to use your physical body, including its components of mind, feeling and breath to move you into your spiritual alignment with Source.

2.) Breathe – Use your breath as a channel to transport you into a state of relaxation. Focus on your breath, breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly and while doing so, allow your body and mind to relax. Get into a habit of slowing down your breath several times throughout each day. Use it as a way to relax and fully feel yourself within your body.

3.) Visualize – After you relax through the channel of your breath, use your mind’s eye to imagine a comforting feeling, such as peace or love, that moves through your body with each breath. Try to imagine a nurturing light that accompanies this feeling as they move together throughout your body, spreading peace or love to every inch within.

4.) Ground – Combine your breath, the nurturing feelings and light to now move down your body and expand into the earth while still filling your body. You want to fully feel your body soften and deepen with these inner tools (breath, feelings and visualization) and connect with the earth.

5.) Connect – Once you feel grounded, within your mind’s eye, allow the nurturing feelings and light to expand beyond your pores and out into your aura. Then expand into the cosmos where you connect with a light that is even greater than yours. This is the light of Divine Source. You may know it as God. Know that this light is omnipresent and your inner light is a hologram of this Source light.

6.) Meaning – After you are able to do embrace the five steps above, create a process for yourself that allows you to remember this practice. This could be your affiliation with and practice of a religion or spiritual philosophy that promotes your inner strength. It could be a ritual you create where you introduce smells and sounds, such as burning sage, incense, candles or playing a crystal bowl, tapping a chime or chanting, to provide a few suggestions. Get creative. Do what works for you and your belief system. You want to provide a special experience—a ritual—for yourself in which to do this work that encompasses all of the steps. Create one that has meaning to you.

7.) Practice – As with everything in life, with practice and more practice, comes the strength and ease at doing something. So by exercising your practice, you will develop and expand your state of consciousness and strengthen your inner light, which is the seat of your empowerment.

Your Spiritual Practice should always be one that aligns you with Spirit and brings you closer to your greatness within. Know that as you grow, your practice will follow suit and be ever-evolving. From out of this grounded, connective and meaningful ritual develops your own Spiritual Practice that enhances and empowers you from the inside out. It will remind you to recognize your inherent connection with Source that is ever-present.